England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the guidance from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
